ARCTIC MONKEYS EPIC GLASTO SET & TOUR 2013

Wow. Wow. Wow. What. A. Corker. Of. A. Headline.

That set was truly out of this world.

Twelve hours later and I'm still on a high, an Arctic Monkeys induced haze, because how could we,

as Arctic Monkeys fans, have asked for anything better than what they gave us last night?

Hit after hit after hit, truly phenomenal showmanship from Alex (did you like those dramatic hair combs eh?), electrifying atmosphere, Helders' intense, pulsing drumming, Nick and Jamie's scorching guitar slides and riffs.... This was a coming of age show alright.

Before the Monkeys walked on stage my heart was pounding with excitement.

The red record light on my Sky Plus box was flashing, my foot was tapping away, my mother was zonked out on the sofa. And then... they walked onstage, and the last two year wait meant nothing as feelings of excitement, love and inner celebratory screaming took over.

They were finally there. And they were ready to blow our socks off.

We've been waiting for this set since March and all day yesterday was agonising as the clock edged nearer and nearer to 10:15pm. In all honesty, I was afraid that this set had been bigged up so much that it surely couldn't live up to expectation but I am so, so glad to say I was proved wrong. 

By song number two, 'Brianstorm', I was having an eargasm on the floor.

'Don't Sit Down...' had me doing karate moves at the TV screen.

'Brick By Brick' I was pummeling my fists and shaking my head like a possessed tribal warrior.

My mother, who by now had woken up, stared at me like I was a new breed of UFO and damn she was right. The Monkeys really were possessing me. 

The music was filling me up, taking over my body, zapping through my veins.

Life really could not get any better than it did last night.

Alex was the perfect showman, working the crowd who were literally in the palm of his hand.

He requested they sing a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' to his mum Penny, which they duly did, and I'm pretty sure if he asked them to pop down to ASDA and get him a roast chicken, they would have.

Even us sat watching him on the TV were entranced like little zombies, watching our leader and obeying his every command. In my last AM's article I mentioned how the Monkeys have matured and really come into their own, and this set demonstrated that perfectly.

Just watch it and you'll know exactly what I mean.

The Monkeys were having a whale of a time, the crowd was dying of epicness overload, the music had a life of it's own. Everything came together in those one and a half hours and the result was a set that will surely go down in Glasto history. I know I'll never forget it.

Oh and who could resist a strings version of 'Cornerstone' and  'Mardy Bum'?

If I was having an eargasm before, well right then I was having an ear attack because it was just perfection.

Guy Garvey certainly spun his magic into that one. 

Of course the addition of Miles Kane and his metal incased finger to perform the much adored riffs of 505, 

wrapped up the epic show in true Monkeys style and made sure every single person both at Glasto, or watching it from behind a screen, went to bed last night 100% satisfied in every way possible.

It was a magical night and of course today we have the Rolling Stones headlining and they'll be sure to crank the mightiness of Glastonbury up by more than a few notches.

Now if you're a Monkeys fan, maybe a slightly obsessed one like myself, you'll be aware of the following key dates: 5th July and 9th September. 

The first is the day UK tour tickets go on-sale and trust me, if you want to see the AM's live, you're gonna have to get in quick because those tickets are going to sell like hotcakes.

If they hadn't just done Glasto, I wouldn't be so worried, but with that platform, you will have your hardcore Monkey fans vying for tickets and your nostalgic Monkey fans who just want to see the old school hits like 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' or 'Fluorescent Adolescent' played live once again. 

You really need to get in there as fast as you can my friends.

Keep and eye out for pre-sale and if you miss that, 9am sharp be on the web, credit card in hand, ready to buy, because if Glasto is anything to go by, you really don't want to miss out on an opportunity to see the Monkeys live. As for the album 'AM', just head online to pre-order and you shouldn't have any problem with that whatsoever.

So that's all, hope you enjoyed the set as much as I did,

and lets hold our fists up to the UK's best band as of now. 

ALL HAIL THE MONKEYS OO-OOO-OOOO.

The setlist:

'Do I Wanna Know?'

'Brianstorm'
'Dancing Shoes'
'Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair'
'Teddy Picker'
'Crying Lightning'
'Brick By Brick'
'Fake Tales Of San Francisco'
'She's Thunderstorms'
'Old Yellow Bricks'
'Pretty Visitors'
'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'
'Do Me A Favour'
'R U Mine?'
'Mad Sounds'
'Fluorescent Adolescent'
'A Certain Romance'
'Cornerstone
'Mardy Bum'
'When The Sun Goes Down'
'505'
Pictures/info from: http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/71138#A1ZoV2BZil5TrpIj.99 

WEBSITE: http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/

Glasto: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ej58q9

CORNERSTONE LIVE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuONLLVbbJI
MARDY BUM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwNTuPTXaJ0

EPIC AMERICAN ANTHEMS

This week, the topic is American Anthems. Yes I know that as soon as you see those words, your mind automatically time travels back to the 80's when America ruled the rock anthem roost and it was all about those slick guitar riffs and powerhouse vocals and songs that seemed to have a life of their own. 

Yeah I get that, because trust me, I am exactly the same.

This is the exact scene I see in my mind (just imagine me in that car...)

If I close my eyes, I can see skies the colour of the Caribbean sea and I am driving a monster of a car down a highway that takes me through desert, towns, landscapes with those epic American Anthems blasting out of the car and my screeching voice accompanying them. 

That's what these Anthems do to you, they transport you to a place better than the reality you're living in.

Even as a teenager in today's day and age, I can fully appreciate the sheer brilliance and magic of these American Anthems. These songs are everything that is and was good about music and they have the power to ignite a spark within you, making you feel alive and invigorating that desire to go out and live.

Now who could say that about a Nikki Minaj song?

I know I wasn't even around to witness the era itself, but with my parents being very much into this genre, I have grown up with these songs and being a guitar player myself, I'm almost hypnotised by those guitar riffs that are almost compulsory in an American Rock Anthem.

I want to be able to whack out my guitar and spin those riffs and licks in the same ferocious and arrogant manner that those American Guitar Gods possess. I want to wow people in the same way they do, I want to put on one of those electrifying shows too, I basically want to be a rock star playing before a humongous 10,000 crowd like all the American greats.

And when I play just one of those anthems, I can imagine that, if only for a minute or two.

For the duration of those songs, I am on top of the world and I love it.

When I think of American Anthems and who was at the forefront, spearheading the songs that championed the era, I think of ACDC, Bon Jovi, Guns'N'Roses, Meat Loaf, Boston, Journey, Aerosmith, Poison, Alice Cooper as well as many more legends to whom I will always be grateful to. I've seen videos of those performances and these bands, they were masters of their art; they knew how to convey that power, they knew how to put on a show and they had the whole world eating out of their hands.

The artists who produced those American Anthems we still adore today possessed a type of talent that artists today rarely know how to access. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but lets face it, you don't see many bands who have the capability to make an anthem, not just a song. 

We hear booming bass beats instead of spectacular guitar riffs, we hear auto tune instead of the majestic power of a well attuned and magical voice, we hear lyrics that make us want to live for the weekend and not for a lifetime. 

I'm not saying all artists are like this, gosh no, but the majority are, and it makes me sad to see that the magic of decades past just gets glossed over and packed into boxes to be stored in the depths of an attic, destined to be forgotten forever more. It's as if people have forgotten how to make music like this. 

 So I'm dedicating this article to the music of a time long gone.

This is for all those artists who made music that could only ever be described as EPIC in every sense and way possible

 These bands and artists, they make me believe that music was once something indescribable, it had an ingredient that you don't tend to see so much these days and it had the ability to create goosebumps and ignite sparks of life.

Those Epic American Anthems, they are like a lifeline to someone like me, growing up in this day and  age. Of course I adore some of the artists around today and I appreciate that the direction of music had to change and will continue to change for ever more, but I wish I had been able to witness these American Anthems for myself. I wish I had been around to be a part of the era, the moment, when these songs were dominating the radio airwaves, when they were released on vinyl, not CD's or downloads, when these artists were the ones with tour dates and crazy fans. 

If only I could go back and witness this epic moment of music history....

Oh well, at least music lives on forever.

American Anthem Play List:
http://teepotmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/playlist-three-epic-american-anthems.html

AMERICAN ANTHEMS YOUTUBE PLAYLIST:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7OgIMMRc4&list=PLJJ2XVSdsukzSAgkNLv1iVzE_OSrpRGOW&feature=plpp_play_all